Ebay's not what it used to be

[2012sincity]

Hi all. I dont know about you but it just seems that every year my sales go down, my profit margin goes down, but ebays fees go up. 

It would be nice if Ebay started to pay more attention to us sellers selling than finding more creative way of milking sellers with fees. For example : charging us on shipping cost. I understand the reason for it, but it doesnt make it right to hit all of us. Some say well they have allowed more free listing. Yes but they get you in the final sale, and not to be out done Ebay's side kick Pay Pal take their cut. Id be curious to know , out of a $100 made what % goes to Ebay. 20%?

You would also think during the HO HO Season that Ebay would try to do some advertising on the new media called TV. Some one said that they only advertise on the US channels. Well I get those channels and I havent seen squat. They seem to be Ok with maximizing their profits where ever they can find some, and let ebay and us fall where ever it may.

Why not follow AMAZON's lead. Great service, great ad campaign. Kicking Ebays butt. I dont expect to get back the great days of ebay of say 2005, but would it be so bad to see Ebay give a ( use your imagination).

I know that this message is for not. Just wanted to vent.

Thanks All and happy Holidays

[mr.elmwood]

My fees have decreased as a % of sales the last 2 1/2 years.

Amazon had the FVF on shipping long before eBay did. Amazon's seller fees are higher than here.

Advertise on TV? Really? Yeah, I'm watching TV and I see a commercial, I get up, go to the other room, fire up the computer, log in, hang on a second, I was watching my show.

eBay advertises on my computer everyday. Every time I power on, there is the logo as part of the Windows package, right there, on my computer, right where it will influence me. I have NEVER, EVER, seen an Amazon logo.

I have never seen Amazon advertising. The only reason I know of it is because eBay sellers talk about it.

[recped]

Amazon have been doing a fair bit of TV advertising this year and Canadian ads as well. Pretty much all of them are for Kindle. Amazon ads promote products that AMAZON sells not products sold by third-party sellers on Amazon.

Similar to Mr. Elmwood my fees as a percentage of sales are much lower today than they were 5 years ago.

You may not recall but when FVF's on shipping was introduced overall FVF's were reduced, for many sellers this meant lower overall fees, for some seller fees did go up.

The other MAJOR reason for FVF's on shipping, eBay strongly encouraged sellers to use "free shipping", under the original fee system sellers with "free shipping" were penalized because they paid fees on 100% of a sale while sellers who charged shipping only paid on the item value.

"free shipping" isn't really free, it's "shipping included", hard to encourage people to do shipping included when it meant higher fees.

[westernstargifts]

My fees have gone down considerably compared to previous years.

Over the years I have rented space in various stores.  In one I paid $50 per month and they added 20% of the amount I received for an item to the selling price.  That meant I had to lower my prices to keep them in a range where they would sell....and they did.

In another store there was no monthly fee but they charged a flat rate of 30% of my total sales.

Other stores charged less but did not get the business that the other two did.  At the end of the day eBay is cheaper than those stores were and I don't have to drive to them to restock the shelves (most were out of town) and pay for the gas there and back.

Sales are down here but they are also down at all of the craft shows and events where we exhibit.  Talking to many other vendors we find that they have experienced the same thing. 

This is the biggest slump we have experienced in over 20 years of retail.  We are always looking for new types of products to sell that complement the products we sell now.  And we will be making some changes in the product lines that we do carry.  When things stop selling it is time for a change.  It is finding the right products that is the most difficult to do.

[triber]

I started selling on eBay in 1998, (about the same time as Pierre). In the main category I sell in, crafts, there were literally a handful of items for sale.

There is a huge increase in the amount of sellers since, then, so it stands to reason that in my main category at least, sales are going to be spread over a much larger seller base, so the numbers of sales for each seller are going to drop.

I realize that there are a lot more buyers also, but proportionately, I think there is more of an increase in sellers. I used to have regulars buyers who purchased many, many items from me, sometimes over several years, now I have none of those regular buyers, too much competition.

[recped]

Items listed on eBay in 1998 - under 5 Million

Items listed on eBay in 2013 - OVER 500 Million

Total sales on eBay in 1998 - Less than 1 Billion Dollars

Total sales on eBay in 2013 - Over 60 Billion

That's all the info you need to understand why YOUR sales may be down while eBay over all is doing just fine.

[rose-dee]

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@triber wrote:

I realize that there are a lot more buyers also, but proportionately, I think there is more of an increase in sellers. I used to have regulars buyers who purchased many, many items from me, sometimes over several years, now I have none of those regular buyers, too much competition.

---

I think there is also the factor of what kind of buyers are coming here now, and what they're looking for -- and this, IMHO, is a result of eBay's intentions. 

There may be more buyers, but I see eBay promoting the kind of stuff you can find in any strip mall, not unique collectibles, vintage items, OOAK, or artisan/craft type articles.  I know there isn't the same kind of interest and activity around those types of items that there was even 2 years ago, because when I list them, they don't attract the hits and watchers they used to -- certainly not the sales either.  

I don't personally believe market saturation has anything to do with it.  I wouldn't be surprised if many of those "traditional" eBay buyers are looking elsewhere because they've been turned off by the high-tech, mass-produced products that eBay is promoting everywhere on its site.  Those kind of buyers may also be getting sick of the site looking altered and acting differently every time they sign on.  General economic caution may also have something to do with it, but it seems people still have lots to spend on a multitude of gadgets of dubious utility. 

[2012sincity]

"Advertise on TV? Really? Yeah, I'm watching TV and I see a commercial, I get up, go to the other room, fire up the computer, log in, hang on a second, I was watching my show.

eBay advertises on my computer everyday. Every time I power on, there is the logo as part of the Windows package, right there, on my computer, right where it will influence me. I have NEVER, EVER, seen an Amazon logo."

You make my point exactly. They dont advertise in the way people notice them. As you would take off when a commercial comes up, I think its safe to say we also ignore Ebay advertisement on line. Too be very honest, I dont see them on line. I also think Ebay has a bad reputation for buyers. Ebay could try to do a little bit of spin doctoring 

I am happy to hear that there are Ebayers still believe strongly about Ebay. Personally I have only noticed  having to sell  more items for less to make some thing near the amount I made years ago. I look at what I pay in total fees and I dont see a lesser amount. 

I really feel there are too many sellers for the amount of buyers, so we are forced to either uncut are competition or sell cheaper quality items

[mr.elmwood]

You are missing my point. I would NEVER stop my show to do what a commercial for a different venue would say to do.

I have never seen any ad for any online anything, ever. Never.

[captivatemedia]

---

@mr.elmwood wrote:

Advertise on TV? Really? Yeah, I'm watching TV and I see a commercial, I get up, go to the other room, fire up the computer, log in, hang on a second, I was watching my show.

---

Your implying that TV advertising doesn't work. I'm pretty sure it's one of the most effective marketing solutions out there. (If implemented appropriately, of course)

[captivatemedia]

Of course I meant "You're", but I don't see any way to edit

[captivatemedia]

Also, regarding the fact that you would never stop your show to go to Ebay.

Why stop the show? Most people now do this stuff on Phones, Tablets, laptops.

There's no need to leave the couch.

Chris

[pierrelebel]

"Why not follow AMAZON's lead"

That is funny!

1) Nearly three years ago, following Amazon's lead, eBay lowered FVF on most transactions when they switched their billing system to charge FVF on the transaction total (including shipping).  Most sellers have been complaining about paying FVF on shipping ever since.

2) eBay makes money, lots of money.  Amazon makes only a little money. A quick look at their respective financial results will confirm the fact.

3) I also agree with other posters that my overall percentage of eBay fees this year is slightly lower than it was three years ago.

[cumos55]

Last spring....For books

The listing fee is 5 cents per 30 days..... and is the same if you have no store, or any of the three levels of a store.

FVF were adjusted down.... 

Meaning.... lower fees    

eBay is different from 10 years ago... definitely....

But then so is the rest of the internet, and if eBay did not change  eBay would not be here today......

A lot of the frustration with eBay has to do with the failure on the part of sellers to understand what it takes to sell here.

It is no longer list it and leave it to sell.....  One has to work to make it happen

Many sellers are frustrated with the FVF on shipping.... mainly because they were not here before there was an FVF on shipping... when FVF on the item along was higher.....

[mr.elmwood]

Amazon is actually losing money, hemorrhaging cash over the last few quarters. eBay is up to their necks in actual cash.

Cars are not what they used to be

Aeroplanes are not what they used to be.

Schools are not what they used to be.

Toys are not what they used to be.

Population of the world is not what it used to be.

I do not play that "used to be" game. "Used to be" is for people standing still. I learned that lesson when I turned 50. Up to 50 I used to look back at where I had been. After 50, I looked forwards to where I was going. I am always looking around the corner, over the hill, into the future.

[bb_cool_stuff]

"Used to be" is for people standing still.

Yes, & I was one of those sellers that was caught standing still probably for the last couple of years.

Did my attitude affect my sales, not really, but they weren't really increasing either.

They seemed to increase by around 10%. In the grand scheme of my yearly sales that was a minimal increase.

Made a conscious effort to really work the store, adopt more savy buying practises & have found the effort has paid off.

I remember when we could buy every great lot that came along. Those great deals are still increasing in numbers but no one is buying the mainstream product. Some sellers are in a full blown panic mode as a lot of their stock was paid by credit card.

Used to receive messages bi-weekly on lot deals, now they are offered every couple of days. Scary out there !

[ammolitehunter]

In my offering below I mentioned that I had started a stand alone website for my product outside Ebay.

I did this because no matter how I comply with Ebays Cassini--they always promote big sellers of volume junk in my category ahead of quality.Searchers using google or even an Ebay search to find what they want in my product line are presented FIRST with a full page of mostly cheap junk.

So I listed only 25 of my  most expensive items already in my Ebay shop in my website too--and guess what--my website sales in just 3 weeks are ahead of my Ebay sales!

I will still continue to list on Ebay [no sales over what should have been the busiest weekend of the year] for now but am pleased I took the initiative-- at least I have an alternative now.

[bb_cool_stuff]

Glad it is working out for you.

You were very concerned with sales a month ago.

eBay is still a great venue to sell product, but with the ever increasing levels of competition one will have to find additional venues to sell product.

Still researching other venues. Flamed out on Kijiji very quickly. To be honest fifty five dollars in eight weeks.

Cannot compete with the garage sale pricing/counterfeit product in my category.

[reallynicestamps]

"not what they used to be" No, In most cases they are better.

I have never seen any ad for any online anything, ever. Never.

Canada Post has being promoting itself as the prime shipper for online sales. It would not surprise me to learn that most people who buy online have never thought about how the item gets to them.

I haven't seen any repeat of those Canada Post/eBay ads of a few years ago. Those were charming.

Mind you, I mostly just watch HGTV, Space, and CBC (for Murdoch Mysteries) so I could be missing something.

Hey, if you were buying ad time for eBay, where would you put your ads?

[bb_cool_stuff]

I seem to recall an eBay TV ad with The Monkees song "Daydream Believer" underneath the voice over.

I think its been a few years & cannot recall what channel it was playing on.